Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Historic Beer Birthday: Lydia Killen Nighman

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Today is the birthday of Lydia Killen Nightman (March 23, 1797-July 16, 1880). She was born in York, Pennsylvania, but moved to Canton, Ohio, after marrying George Nighman, who was also born in York. After resettling in Ohio, in 1823 her husband founded the George Nighman Brewery in Canton, which was located on the bank of Nimishillen Creek. He ran it for ten years, but died unexpectedly in 1833. Presumambly, she’d been paying attention to her husband’s business, because she stepped in and took over the brewing and ran the business until 1850, renaming it the Lydia Nighman Brewery. That year, her son, Thaddeus Nighman turned 19, and was old enough to take over the brewery. He renamed it that year the Thaddeus C. Nighman Brewery, running it for fifteen years before selling it, presumably, to Kasper Balser.

There’s very little information I could find about her, but given that she was a successful female brewer and brewery owner in the 19th century, it felt like she needed to be remembered. There’s not much more added by her short obituary, from the Stark County Democrat, published on July 16, 1880:

She also appears to have married again, in 1868 (when she was 71), to an Oscar F. Bunnett. She passed away on July 16, 1880, at 83 years of age.

According to Find-a-Grave, this is her headstone in the West Lawn Cemetary in Canton, Ohio, though I can’t read a work on it so I’ll have to take their word for it.

And for no good reason, here’s a photograph of downtown Canton from the 1880s:

Beer In Ads #5179: Back Again! Pittsburgh Brewing Co’s Bock Beer

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Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.

Sunday’s second ad is for Pittsburgh Brewing Co’s Bock Beer, which was published on March 22, 1917. This one was for the Pittsburgh Brewing Co., of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was founded by Edward Frauenheim in 1861. This ad ran in The Pittsburgh Press, also of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Beer In Ads #5178: Wow! The Public Is Really Getting A Boot Out Of Gold Bond Double Bock Beer

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Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.

Sunday’s first ad is for Gold Bond Double Bock Beer, which was published on March 22, 1950. This one was for Cleveland & Sandusky Brewing Co., of Cleveland, Ohio, and was founded in 1852 by C. W. Schmidt and Robert Hoffmann. This ad ran in the Cleveland Press, of Cleveland, Ohio.

Beer In Ads #5177: The Fable Of Bock Beer!

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Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.

Saturday’s second ad is for multiple Canadian Bock Beers, which was published on March 21, 1929 in Vancouver, Canada, where there was no national prohibition at that time. This ad was for the Government Liquor Stores of British Columbia. This ad ran in the Vernon News, of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Beer In Ads #5176: I’m “Bock” Again

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Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.

Saturday’s first ad is for Old Style Bock Beer, which was published on March 21, 1941. This one was for G. Heileman Brewing Co., of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and was founded in 1858, and they also had a branch in Winona. This ad ran in the Winona Daily News, of Winona, Wisconsin.

Beer In Ads #5175: The Season Is Bock Again!

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Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.

Friday’s second ad is for Senate Bock Beer, which was published on March 20, 1941. This one was for Christian Heurich Brewing Co., of Washington, D.C. and was founded in 1872. This ad ran in the Washington Daily News, also of Washington, D.C.

Beer In Ads #5174: The Spring Mellow-Dy! Bock Beer Is Here

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Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.

Friday’s first ad is for Royal Canadian Bock Beer, which was published on March 20, 1937. This ad was for a bar called Stone’s Grill (on 61 S. 6th St.), presumably of Zanesville, Ohio, since that’s where the newspaper was published. I couldn’t find a brewery listed on the ad and nothing specific turned up in searching for the Royal Canadian Bock name, and in fact the only mention of the beer I could find was a few more ads for Stone’s Grill, although there was another Stone’s Gill listed in Portsmouth, Ohio, and I’ve found numerous other locations throughout Ohio. But the beer doesn’t show up anywhere else. This ad ran in the Zanesville Signal, of Zanesville, Ohio.

Beer In Ads #5173: First Sign Of Spring

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Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.

Thursday’s second ad is for Schmidt’s Bock Beer, which was published on March 19, 1937. This ad was for the C. Schmidt & Sons, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which was originally founded in 1860 by Christian Schmidt. This ad ran in the Wilmington Morning News, of Wilmington, Delaware.

Beer Saints: St. Joseph

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Today is the feast day of St. Joseph, husband of Mary, and the “legal” father of Jesus. While he’s not the patron saint of brewers or anything beer related, it’s his feast day that marks the beginning of the Frühjahrsbierfest in Munich, Germany. Frühjahrsbierfest translates as “Spring Beer Festival” and it’s also sometimes called “Little Oktoberfest.” It’s very similar to Oktoberfest, held in the same place but is more local-focused and considerably smaller. The modern festival is held in late April now, ending in early May, and this year’s one in Stuttgart begins April 16th and concludes on May 8, with a similar one in Munich over the same dates. But today is its traditional start date and it lasted, I believe, around two weeks.

“Saint Joseph with the Flowering Rod,” by Jusepe de Ribera, c. 1630.

Here is his main description from his Wikipedia page:

Joseph (Hebrew: יוֹסֵף‎, romanized: Yosef; Greek: Ἰωσήφ, romanized: Ioséph) is a figure in the canonical gospels who was married to Mary, mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels name brothers of Jesus; the Gospel of James, an apocryphal work of the late 2nd century, theorized these as the sons of Joseph from an earlier marriage. This position is still held in the Orthodox churches, but the Western church holds to Jerome’s argument that both Joseph and Mary must have been lifelong virgins and that the “brothers” must have been his cousins. Perspectives on Joseph as a historical figure are distinguished from a theological reading of the Gospel texts.

Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, Anglicanism, and Lutheranism. In Catholic traditions, Joseph is regarded as the patron saint of workers and is associated with various feast days. The month of March is dedicated to Saint Joseph. Pope Pius IX declared him to be both the patron and the protector of the Catholic Church, in addition to his patronages of the sick and of a happy death, due to the belief that he died in the presence of Jesus and Mary. Joseph has become patron of various dioceses and places.

“Joseph’s Dream” by Rembrandt, completed in 1645.

While not a beer saint in the usual sense, I included him because of his association to this German beer festival. Because of his importance to Christianity, he is a patron for a bewildering number of people, places and things, including carpenters, craftsmen, families, lawyers, people who fight communism, social justice, travelers, working people. The places he’s the patron for include, Austria, Belgium, Bavaria, Bohemia, Canada, the Croatian people, the New World, along with Buffalo, NY; Cologne, Germany; La Crosse, Wisconsin; San Jose, California; and Westphalia, Germany. And trust me, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. For the rest, check out CatholicSaints.info.

Beer In Ads #5172: Hey, Look! Bock Beer!

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Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.

Thursday’s first ad is for Gleuk’s Bock Beer, which was published on March 19, 1935. This ad was for the Gluek Brewing Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota, which was originally founded in 1857. This ad ran in the Star Tribune, also of Minneapolis, Minnesota.